Objectors to assisted dying policy often cite Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) programme to exemplify the danger of doing so, including concerns about due process and eligibility. The following briefing is designed to evaluate where Canada has gone wrong, why it should not deter policymakers in Britain, and how we learn from Canadian mistakes to ensure assisted dying can be safe.
KEY POINTS
- Criticisms of Canadian policy focus on procedure and eligibility, but these can be safeguarded by following policies in place in other countries
- Procedural and administrative problems have been overlooked in Canada
- This includes allowing staff without appropriate qualifications to assess assisted dying applications, and failing to provide adequate training to screen cases
- Expanding eligibility to those with non-terminal conditions raised concerns
- Advocacy groups warned that the bill unfairly targeted disabled and impoverished people, and lacked safeguards against misuse
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Detailed procedures should be legislated which provide clarity to physicians
- Clear guidelines should require physicians to evaluate each case
- Patients should be the first to request assisted dying
- Oral medication should be the default method for assisted dying
- Active oversight over each case should be enshrined to safeguard due process
- Specially trained consultants should be available to assist in complex cases
- Regional committees should investigate case and penalise bad behaviour
- Data should be closely monitored, collected and shared
- Alternatives should be available so no one accepts assisted dying before they wish
